The Incomparable X Men
by Stayce
Summary: In the early years of the 21st century genetic mutation runs rampant and this new community is starting to go to war with itself. Into this world come two young mutants, and as events begin to spiral out of control, they will have to choose who to believe
1. Prologue: Epitaph

_"…Now if, ladies and gentlemen, you would indulge me for a moment, I would like you to picture in your minds a never ending flight of stairs. These stairs represent the evolutionary trajectory of all life on this planet. There is no curvature, no gentle arc into the future of our species. Evolution does not progress so smoothly. Instead what we see are long periods of inactivity, a genetic decadence if you will. But then, over the course of only a few generations we see an explosion of activity, the rapid and uncontrolled mutation that drives life forward. The question is where do we place ourselves on this trajectory we have laid out? Are we standing, feet firm in an evolutionary lull, or are we waiting, bracing for the next step?"_

**Professor Charles Xavier speaking on evolution**

**International Conference on Genome Evolution and Speciation**

**Gatersleben, Germany, 1991**

**_PROLOGUE_**

**_EPITAPH_**

The tombstone was new.

The smell of wet freshly turned earth still filled the air after the days earlier showers. Overhead dark slashes of cloud scudded across a bruised evening sky. Two men were making their way across the moist grass of the funeral plot, a large 19th century mansion looming starkly at their backs. Their coats were wrapped tightly around them to shield against the chill evening air. The taller of the two carried a steel framed umbrella in his right hand, the smaller man a simple bunch of flowers. The two eventually came to a stop standing over the tombstone, the smaller man staring intently at the inscription etched across it.

"I am sorry old friend." Said the taller of the two men, his voice crisp and commanding but without accent. The smaller man lifted a hand to his friends shoulder.

"Don't be." He said his own shoulders slumping as he let out a long weary sigh. He looked up and around the grounds of the mansion wearily.

"So many years I avoided this place. So very long away from home and all because of him."

A shiver ran down his spine as a chill breeze carrying brown autumnal leaves gusted by.

"I was always so very afraid when I was here."

The tall man cocked an eyebrow at his companion.

"Then why come back?"

"Because I had to be sure. I couldn't quite believe it when they told me. I'd lived under his shadow for so long, I didn't think I would ever be out from under it. But now I'm here and I can feel it. He's gone. Forever. And he's never coming back."

"You never told me you hated him so much."

"I didn't hate him." The smaller man said shaking his head. "I feared him, him and my brother. They made this place theirs, full of bitterness and anger and want. It was all I could ever feel when I was here. They were both just so poisonous you understand. They filled the air with it, made it difficult to think or even breathe."

The tall man gave a grim chuckle.

"What did you expect? They were only human after all."

"Don't start that." Said the smaller man. "Not now." He hunched low over the fresh grave, his hand resting gently on the recently turned soil. Slowly, he closed his eyes and listened.

He stayed like that for several minutes, the tall man a pace behind him. Dark clouds gathered in the sky above and the first drops of a second rainfall began to fill the air.

"But now all there is, is silence." Said the small man, finally opening his eyes.

"The dead seldom talk back my friend." Said the taller man, popping his umbrella open with a grim smile. "But sometimes I dearly wish they would." His companion glanced back over his shoulder at him.

"I'm sorry to drag you out here." He said, placing the flowers on the soil and straightening. "Come on. Lets go back inside. We have a lot to talk about."

Together the two men turned and began to make their way back across the open grass toward the mansion, shadows lengthening around them as the evening sun dropped behind the horizon and night began to fall.

"Indeed." Agreed the taller man. "This idea of yours is intriguing. I had never considered a school. It would be a haven, a sanctuary."

The smaller man nodded in agreement.

"Yes. A place to show the world what we truly are, and to shape the potential for what we can all be."

The tall man's grim smile returned.

"Ever the idealist my friend."

"We have to try. It's the only way."

"In trying many will die pointlessly." The tall man said bitterly. "Many already have."

The smaller man stopped and fixed his friend with a steady gaze.

"You'd entertain those other options? They will only cause more deaths, create more fear."

The tall man glared back.

"What does that matter?" He snapped, a new sharpness to his voice "When change comes the old must give way to the new. We are the new! You and I and all the others like us. And as for fear, let them fear us! They are right to!"

The smaller man stood his ground, unperturbed by his friend's outburst.

"I will not breed more fear and suspicion in this world. It will only tear us all apart." The two men stood facing each other, the rain becoming heavier. Finally the taller man relaxed, shifting his weight and chuckling softly.

"Very well, you win. This time." He turned and started back toward the house again. The smaller man continued to watch his friend through narrowed eyes for a moment longer before hurrying to catch up.

"So," The taller man began again, forcing a lighter tone into his voice this time, "This school idea. You know those friends in high places of yours won't like it very much. How do you propose we get them to agree?"

The smaller man shrugged.

"I have my ways." He said. "And there are many benefits to allowing me a certain degree of autonomy. Plausible deniability springs to mind."

The taller man laughed a little too hard.

"Ever the peace keeper eh? And what about the location? We will need somewhere away from prying eyes. Don't want to alarm your precious public after all."

The two men drew to a stop in the shadow of the mansion. Inside the household staff were going about their duties preparing dinner for the evening and the lights behind the windows shone brightly in the gathering dusk.

"I can think of no finer place. Can you?" the smaller man said.

* * *

_**NOTES:** While this may sound strange, I have been a fan of the X-Men for a long time, since the early 90's in fact, but until very recently I had only ever read one or two issues of the actual comic books. I'm sure you can guess where my exposure came from. I loved the X-Men cartoon of the early 90's and it was one of my earliest exposures to serialised story telling as a child. I had watched plenty of cartoons before but never ones where the world seemed so real (for a Saturday morning cartoon) and ones where characters could be killed (Morph) and where events would often continue from week to week. The X-Men also just looked cool and the classic team line up certainly helped. Needless to say it left a big impression. I've recently started buying the trade paper-backs mainly thanks to the recently released First Class movie which re-ignited my love of the characters and their world._

_I originally thought of writing a story set immediately after the movies thus dodging the messy comics continuity, but quickly grew dissatisfied with the storyline and baggage attached that would mean missing out on some of my favourite characters. Instead I've decided to do something a along the lines of Ultimate X-Men and start my own continuity that will allow me to play with these characters in a setting a like and a team I enjoy._

_What I've tried to do is make the X-Men inhabit a world that feels plausible (not necessarily real) and have tried to eject what I felt were some of the sillier elements from the various iterations out there and also try to incorporate what I think worked best. I've also chosen to separate it from the mainline Marvel Universe as I'm not a fan of having superhumans and mutants running around and crossovers and the like. As such the only superheroes you will see here are of mutant origin. I have used one specific character as she is important to the overall arc I have planned, and as such her origin has been changed to reflect her as a mutant rather than a superhuman._

_With regards to origins of characters, they are something of a mish mash. I've again tried to keep something that resembles the various origins of these characters, while still giving myself a little room for dramatic credibility and in some cases to make them mesh better with the characters as I write them. Some of these characters may differ from their comic counterparts in the nitty gritty of their backgrounds but I'm hoping the spirit of these various iconic heroes still comes through regardless._

_Finally thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy what you find._


	2. Chapter One: Entrance

_**CHAPTER ONE**_

_**ENTRANCE**_

"_Ah! There you are. Feeling rested?"_

"_A little. It would appear all night mechanical tinkering no longer agrees with me. Is there any coffee?"_

"_A fresh pot over by the console."_

"_How's the new interface?"_

"_Excellent! The signal gain is amazing. You've outdone yourself once again."_

"_Genius has its benefits."_

"_Indeed, sterling work. There is a little signal drop out though. I can't seem to maintain a constant connection."_

"_The neural net probably just needs some recalibration to account for the increased sensitivity. Give me a moment…. How about now?"_

"_Hmmm, yes much better."_

"_Do you see anything yet?"_

"_It will take a moment to narrow my findings but I believe… yes there we are… Two positives."_

"_Spectrum?"_

"_Narrow band. 90 by 260."_

"_That's about a city block. Can you widen the range?"_

"_I lose the focus… they become fuzzy, unclear, like looking at them through frosted glass."_

"_I'll have to work on that. Maybe a higher transfer…"_

"_Hank, we have a Class 2 and 4." _

"_Class 2! It's been a while since we saw one of those."_

"_Indeed… You may want to get the others. It looks like we may need to move quickly on this one."_

* * *

Kathryn Pride huddled at the mouth of the narrow back street, clutching her thin summer jacket tight around her in a vain attempt to keep out the chill of the early winter air. She stamped her feet and rubbed her hands together, glancing furtively into the back street as she did so. About fifty yards down the street the cool neon glow of a night club sign spilled out across dull concrete, a line of young men and women seeping along graffiti covered brick wall. Kitty blew on her fingers nervously as a young man at the tail end of the line threw a glance back over his shoulder at her and muttered something to his friends.

"C'mon Anna." She muttered under her breath as she drew back around the corner and into the light from a nearby street lamp, doing her best to look casual and not at all like she was lurking. Lurking never looked good, especially at this time of night. Instinctively she went to look at her watch and then remembered that she had broken it a week earlier. Huddling in the circle of warm streetlight she turned her head slowly, scanning the main street on which she now stood. A bitter, biting breeze was sweeping between the box like buildings of red brick. A used hamburger carton clattered past her. Beyond that there was very little noise save the distant sound of cars. She hated nights like this, hanging out in the cold, hungry and waiting. Anna would always show of course. She never left her hanging completely. Kitty gave a grim smile to herself. She did dangle her sometimes though.

"Where are you Anna?" she murmured under breath.

"Hey there girlie." Came a voice from the back street. Kitty let out a soft curse and turned to face the person speaking to her. It was the guy from the back of the line. He was tall and whip thin, but his muscles looked hard and wiry. He wore stressed jeans and tight fitting black muscle vest under a padded leather jacket. Kitty smiled as politely as she could manage.

"Hey to you." She replied, trying hard to keep her teeth from chattering in the cold.

"What you up to?" he said. Kitty shrugged.

"Just hanging. Waiting for my friend." The guy cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Some friend. Leaves you chillin' out here on a night like this." He was standing next to her now.

"You look freezing." He said matter of factly then looked meaningfully back in the direction from which he'd come. "Saw you watching the club." He said sliding an arm around her shoulders. "Nice 'n warm inside. Drinks too, warm a cold body right up."

Kitty did her best not to gag as he sidled closer.

"Sorry but I don't have any money. I can't even pay the entry fee." She said trying not to flinch as she felt him slipping an arm around her shoulders. The man shrugged one shoulder as if it wasn't a problem, which Kitty supposed it wasn't.

"Me an' my boys'll pay for you." He said with a smile. Kitty looked him square in the eye.

"And how would I pay you back?" she said directly. The man shrugged again.

"Could always use your imagination."

"I Already am." Kitty said. "You don't come off too well." The guy's brow furrowed, a slow line of anger creeping across his tightening mouth.

"And what's that supposed to mean? You bein' very rude girlie." He growled as he tightened his grip around her shoulder. His fingers began to bite painfully into her skin.

"Now why don't you play nice and come with me. You can make it up to my boys and me later. Hell, you'll probably even enjoy it."

"Something tells me I won't. And my names not girlie." She said casually. Without any warning she took a deep breath and stepped back, passing through his arm and the street lamp as if they weren't there.

"It's Kathryn." She snapped loudly. The man stumbled as she moved, tilting sideways and banging into the street lamp and let out a gasp of surprise.

"What the hell…" he growled, rubbing at his arm as he righted himself. A look of confusion etched across his face. Suddenly the confused look was gone and a look of simultaneous surprise and disgust was in its place.

"You're one of those things they talk about all the time on TV!" He said his voice rising as he began to point toward her.

"You're a… a… a mut…" Suddenly his back arched and his jaws clenched tightly shut, his eyes rolling to the right in panic. A second girl, taller than Kitty but half a head shorter than him was standing behind him, her left arm stretched out, the tips of her long fingers resting gently against the base of his neck.

"Wow sugah." The girl said in a thick southern drawl. She gave a sly grin and a toss of her thick brown hair.

"You look dog tired all of a sudden." The man tried to open his mouth but only succeeded in grinding his teeth. Kitty watched impassively as Anna released her hold on him and he collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving desperately.

"What did… did…. You do to…" The man manged to say between ragged gasping breaths. A dark look passed across Anna's face as she watched him struggling to breathe.

"You should run along home and get some sleep." She said squatting down in front of his face and flexing the fingers of her left hand. "Wouldn't want you collapsing out here on a night like this. All sorts of dangerous people about." The man stared at her for what seemed like an age before finally managing to pull himself up to his feet again. He looked visibly drained with thick grey rings under his eyes. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"I… I think I'll just be…" Anna nodded and motioned with her head all jest leaving her face.

"You be on your way then sugah and try to forget about us." She eyed him levelly. "That shouldn't be too hard should it?"

The man swallowed again and took several shaky steps backward, his eyes darting wildly between them as he shook his head. Finally, with a few steps separating him from them he turned and hurried off up the street as fast as his shaking legs would carry him. Kitty watched him for a few minutes before she felt her shoulders begin to shake. She wasn't sure if it was the cold.

"Creep." She shouted angrily after him.

"Ahm sorry hon." She heard Anna say behind her. "Ah didn't mean to keep you waiting out here." Kitty rounded on her.

"Where the hell were you!" She demanded angrily. "You said twelve thirty! I've been standing out here for the last thirty minutes and then you come swanning in like nothing in the world is wrong, when just a few minutes earlier el creepo over there was one step away from felony sexual assault!" Anna glanced nervously toward the back street. She seemed uneasy. Nervous almost. That made Kitty pause. Anna rarely got nervous.

"Anna, what's going on? What are we doing here tonight?"

Anna stepped closer to her lowering her voice.

"Try keeping your voice down. Ah don't want the whole neighbourhood on our cases. It's Agresti. We're here for him."

"Agresti? I thought we weren't done doing his odd jobs." Kitty said in genuine surprise. "He never pays us right."

"Well this time he did." Anna said. "Ten grand. Five up front, five when he gets the merchandise." Kitty's eyes widened.

"What are we grabbing for him? The Mona Lisa?"

"Nothing so grand hon." Anna laughed, "but that's why ah was late. Ah was here last night checking the club out and ah had to get changed." For the first time Kitty noticed what Anna was wearing. Beneath her thick winter coat she was wearing a thin green dress cut high on the thigh and a pale yellow handbag was hanging at her side. Her thick brown hair had been washed, conditioned and straightened out from its usual wild tangle. She looked every inch the young night clubber.

"You make me look underdressed." Kitty said. "How am I supposed to get in?" Anna shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. There shouldn't be a problem. The door guys know me." With that she turned on her heel and started toward the back street. Kitty hurried to catch up.

"What are you doing? You know whose club this is don't you?" she hissed under her breath as the pounding base beat from inside switched to a more upbeat tempo.

"Try not to be nervous." Anna whispered back. "Just relax and let me do the talking."

As they walked past the line Kitty couldn't help but notice a group of guys toward the rear of it glancing curiously between her and the way there friend had gone earlier. She tried hard not to grin. In front of her, Anna called out to one of the doormen, a big bulky guy in thick overcoat with a clipboard in his right hand, probably a special guest list.

"Hey Meatboy!" Anna said as if she were really pleased to see him. "How's the night honey?" Meatboy coughed as he looked up from the clipboard.

"Cold." He said simply.

"Is Jimmy about tonight?" Anna said with a sly grin, layering her accent on thick. "Ah really enjoyed mahself yesterday, and he told me ah could stop by any time." Meatboy nodded.

"Mr Talleca said you'd be headin' back. Didn't say tonight, but I guess you can go on in." Anna shot him a dazzling smile.

"C'mon Rose mah darlin'" grinned Anna, patting Kitty on the back as she started for the double doors that lead inside. Kitty almost flinched away from her until she realised Anna was patting her jacket.

"Wait a second." Meatboy said, moving to block her path. "Mr Talleca said you could come inside." He gestured toward Kitty.

"He didn't say nothin' 'bout some half starved waif who looks like she hasn't taken no shower in a week."

Kitty stood back and watched the back and forth silently, almost hoping they'd be turned away. She didn't like this job already. It reeked of wrong. Jimmy Talleca was a fairly well known gangster in the surrounding burg and the club was his legitimate – if seedy – front business. True, he didn't have quite the muscle Agresti did, but Kitty had heard rumours about Talleca's real business interests, none of them good. Drugs, racketeering, prostitution, even some minor gun running. The thought crossing a man like Jimmy Talleca did not sit well with her.

"Oh c'mon Meat." Said Anna, looking genuinely hurt. "Jimmy told me to bring friends. Little Rosey here is mah friend. And she cleans up real nice. Jimmy'll love her."

Meatboy gazed at the two of them steadily for a moment. Kitty felt uncomfortable and shifted slightly, doing her best not to look at her feet. After what seemed like an eternity he finally stepped aside.

"All right then. You can go on in." he glanced over at Kitty. "Both of you."

Anna smiled at him happily.

"Ah'll be sure to tell Jimmy how nice you were." She said as she walked past him, Kitty following close behind. Meatboy just shrugged.

"Whatever girl." He gave her knowing look. "Just go easy on Mr Talleca. You look like the kind of girl could use him six ways from Sunday and he'd never know to stop. Guy isn't as young as he used to be. He gives himself cardiac arrest with you and I'm out one job." Kitty blinked. It was the most he'd said since they started the conversation. Anna shot her a wicked grin.

"Honey, easy ain't what ah had in mind." She said.


	3. Chapter Two: Audition

**CHAPTER TWO**

**AUDITION**

The club was dingy. That was the first thing that struck Kitty as she and Anna stepped inside. It wasn't at all like she'd imagined considering the number of people lining up outside waiting to get in. Pulsing trance pounded from an ancient speaker system, the loose connections inside huge bass boxes crackling with each fresh beat. The dance floor was an uneven square with a raised runway along too sides. Groups of young men leaned on the safety barriers along those two sides, leering hungrily at the heaving throng of young women below them. Beneath her feet the carpet felt threadbare and sticky from spilled alcohol while the stale scent of it clawed at her nostrils.

Kitty suddenly felt very nervous as she followed Anna across the room, trying not to jostle anyone as she passed. She barely even noticed as the tip of her shoulder passed through one or two people.

"Watch yourself." Whispered Anna her voice barely audible over the music. "You're phasing."

Kitty swallowed and nodded.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Jimmy. He's in the VIP area. This is his club after all." Said Anna. "Now remember, your name is Rose and I'm Sandy."

Kitty cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Sandy?"

Anna shrugged.

"I watched Greece the other night."

Then they were standing at the base of a small flight of stairs, no more than three or four steps high. They led up to a raised platform fenced off from the rest of the club.

"Wait here a second." Said Anna as she moved to the bouncer standing at the foot of the steps. He was another big guy in a dark coat and, if she squinted, Kitty thought he could've been Meatboy's twin. She could just make out a number of separate tables beyond him, each one surrounded by the plushest seats in the club. A number of booths were occupied by small groups of people. They were small groups of young men and women, smiling, laughing and drinking. Kitty felt a bitter twist of envy pull at her heart as she watched one couple across the chasm of the club floor. They were smiling and holding each other close. Even with the din of the club and the people all around, those two were so completely absorbed in each other that everything else may as well have been silence. Would she ever have that feeling, that connection with another person? She couldn't help but think that it would never happen. After all, who could ever love people like her and Anna? They were runaways, thieves and homeless to boot. She let out a soft sigh.

It took her a moment to realise Anna had stepped up on to the platform of the VIP area and was waving for her to follow.

"Here we go." She muttered to herself as she took a deep breath and stepped past the bouncer who watched her go with a frown. Anna draped an arm across her shoulder as they started toward the largest of the booths together. Again Kitty couldn't help but notice how studious Anna was in avoiding directly touching her skin.

"Here." She said pressing something soft and thin into Kitty's hand. "Chew on this. And be obvious about it."

"What is it?" Said Kitty, popping the thin strip into her mouth.

"Gum." Said Anna as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She slipped a piece into her own mouth and began chewing. "Trust me, you wanna look trashy. Trashier you look, the more he'll like you."

As if to emphasise she blew a large pink bubble and popped it loudly.

"Now remember hon, Rose and Sandy." She whispered as they drew close to the booth. Kitty gave another nod and began chewing on her gum. The largest booth had a group of young women lounging, catlike, around a single older man. He was a big man. Not quite fat, but heavy set, teetering on the border. His hair was almost black but shot through with faint hints of grey, a signature of how long it had been since his last dye job. He wore a rumpled casual suit jacket with a wide collared white shirt opened to his chest beneath it. Kitty couldn't help but think that he looked like every sleazy mobster she'd ever seen in the movies or splashed across a TV screen. A number of empty glasses were scattered across the table. The group had clearly been drinking. Anna blew another bubble and popped it loudly. The man looked up at them through bloodshot eyes.

"Well well, if it isn't my little tease. You skipped out pretty quick on me last night." He said as Anna stopped in front of him. She smiled and winked at him.

"Nice to see you too Jimmy." She replied. "An' ah didn't skip, ah sauntered. Wouldn't want you thinkin' I was easy now would I?"

A dark smile lit Jimmy's face.

"No, no, wouldn't want that." He shot a look at Kitty. "Whose your friend?" Anna hiked her thumb at Kitty.

"This? This is just my girl Rose. Ah was talkin' about you all day, and Rose said she just had to meet you." Kitty tried her best to copy Anna's brash grin.

"Hi. Pleased to meet you. A… Sandy's told me so much about you." She said, hoping Jimmy didn't notice her slip. She felt Anna's grip on her shoulder tighten nervously as Jimmy's eyes narrowed.

"Has she now." He said. It was at this moment one of the girls at his arm stirred.

"Jimmy?" She said, her voice pure Jersey. "Who are these girls. Tell 'em to take a hike. I want you all to myself tonight." Jimmy shrugged his arm out of her grasp.

"How 'bout you take a hike instead?" he snapped back at her. "In fact all you girls get lost. I want to spend time with my new girls here." The other girls looked startled by his sudden viciousness. So startled they didn't move right away. Kitty almost felt bad for them as Jimmy rounded on them furiously.

"You heard me!" he yelled. "Leave. NOW!" The girls slowly began to slide off the couch, casting dirty glances at Kitty and Anna as they shuffled off. Jimmy watched them go shaking his head.

"Dumb asses." He muttered before looking back at them. "Why don't you girls have a seat?" Anna flashed him one of her big smiles as she sank down onto the couch next to him, gesturing for Kitty to sit on the other side. Jimmy leaned back on the couch and clasped his hands behind his head.

"So then, now we're alone, care to tell me why you ran out on me last night?" he asked, his eyes suddenly sharper, more inquisitive. "You were talking about a business proposition you had for me."

"Ah was indeed." Smiled Anna. She motioned toward Kitty.

"Meet mah business proposition." Kitty shifted uneasily in her seat. What was Anna playing at?

"What are you talking about?" Jimmy said glancing at Kitty. "She's just some kid." Anna laughed.

"Just some kid? Rose here is the finest thief you're ever going to find." Jimmy continued to eye Kitty doubtfully.

"Uh huh. And you think I need a thief why exactly?" Anna leaned back in her seat with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I know you've been hitting some of Fisk's laundering operations. Making off with large amounts of green. Trouble is you're messing with Fisk and Fisk doesn't like to be messed with, especially not by clumsy gang bangers who leave a big stinking trail right back to your doorstep." Jimmy's eyes narrowed unpleasantly as he turned his attention back to Anna.

"You know a lot girl. A little on the 'too much' side of things for my liking. Care to share how you know all this? You one of Fisk's lackeys? Tryin' to shake me down? Is that what this is?" Anna laughed and leaned forward looking straight past Jimmy and over at Kitty.

"Show him." She said, doing her best to give Kitty a reassuring smile. Kitty nodded and leaned forward resting her hand lightly against one of the half empty champagne glasses.

"You goin' to show me some underage tween gettin' drunk?" Jimmy jeered. "I've seen that with any number of drunk Bronx girls who stumble in here."

"Just watch." Said Anna and gave a brief nod to Kitty.

Kitty took a deep breath and passed her hand through the glass.

Jimmy leaned forward his eyes widening.

"What the…" he muttered.

"Do it again." He said, his eyes never leaving the glass. Kitty obliged, this time passing her hand through a second glass and then pushing it down through the table before resting it back in her lap again. Anna's smile was wide as she leaned in close to Jimmy's ear, being careful not to touch him as she did so.

"Y'see sugah." She purred. "Little Rose here can just walk in and out. No guards, no alarms, no trail. Poor old Fisk won't know whose hitting him. Meanwhile you're sitting pretty on a wad big enough to make Ebenezer Scrooge green with envy." Jimmy was just staring at the champagne glasses in disbelief.

"And how much will it cost me?" he said. Anna glanced around warily.

"Now that's something I think we should discuss in private. All proper an' business like." Jimmy glanced at her, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he stood up and motioned for them to follow. As he turned away from them and made toward a door in the back wall of the club Anna's shoulders sagged slightly and she breathed a small sigh of relief. Kitty tried to give her a reassuring grin as they made there way across the club after Jimmy, but it felt forced. The truth was she was nervous and the deeper they went here, the more nervous she was becoming. Anna's own growing unease wasn't helping matters either.

Soon they were in the back halls of the club, the dim lights giving way to the harsh glare of fluorescents that accentuated Anna's pale skin and brought out the drunken flush in Jimmy's pale cheeks. As they walked through the corridors a creeping sense of being watched began to settle over Kitty. It gnawed persistently at the back of her mind as they walked.

Then came the voice.

"_Kathryn Pride." _It said in soft, soothing tones. She paused for a moment her eyes widening. Was this it? Had the stress of all these months on the run, struggling to eat, struggling to keep herself hidden finally made her snap?

"_No." _The voice answered her silent question simply. _"Keep moving. Don't let them know anything is wrong."_

Kitty began to open her mouth in reply.

"_Don't speak."_ The voice said. She snapped her mouth shut quickly.

"_Think what you want to say. I will hear it."_ Kitty had to try hard to keep herself from nodding.

"_Who are you?" _She thought at the disembodied voice and was amazed when it answered.

"_Unfortunately Kathryn we have very little time for introductions. For the time being, please just understand that my name is Charles and I am a friend."_

"_Are you talking to Anna like this too?"_

"_I'm afraid not. Her mind is… fragmented."_ For a brief moment the image of a broken mirror flashed in her mind. Each sliver of polished glass shone with a reflection of Anna's face, each one twisted into a different expression, like dozen different people lurking beneath the skin of her friend. She blinked and the image was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"_What… what…" _

"_Try to concentrate Kathryn. You must be extremely careful. The man you are dealing with is dangerous and unstable. He is not to be trusted. There are others coming to help you. You must be patient. They will be there soon."_

"_What do you mean? Who is coming?" _Her thoughts were pleading but there was no answer. The feeling of being watched had subsided as well.

They had stopped outside a plain unassuming door. A plaque stamped with the words 'Managers Office' was displayed two thirds of the way up it. Jimmy produced a set of keys and a moment later the door was swinging open.

The windowless office was quite plain inside. The same bright fluorescent light as the corridor glared from overhead and a simple desk with a laptop and stack of files on top of it was situated in the centre of the room. A row of filing cabinets ran along the wall to either side of the door and a large imposing looking safe filled another corner. Jimmy ushered them inside then closed the door behind him. Kitty heard a distinct click as he locked the door. Cold sweat began to trickle down her spine and she swallowed nervously.

Anna crossed to the centre of the room and leaned against the desk with forced casualness, propping her self up with her arms and crossing her legs at their ankles. She wasn't smiling any more.

"So." She began, her voice no longer sounding quite so confident. Kitty wondered if she had been planning to get this far.

"Now we discuss payment." Jimmy smiled; the same grim smile as earlier. Kitty took an involuntary step back from him suddenly afraid for Anna.

"Payment?" he said, followed by a quick nod.

"Sure. We can discuss payment." Suddenly he was moving quicker than Kitty had thought him capable. He was across the room in two long strides, his left hand seizing Anna by her long hair and tugging her head viciously backwards. In his right hand a gun had appeared seemingly from nowhere, although Kitty could only assume he'd been keeping it inside his jacket.

"How's about this for a discussion!" he hissed shoving the gun deep into the underside of Anna's chin. Anna's eyes opened wide as he glared down at her, his knuckles whitening in her amongst her hair.

"I don't need no Louisiana bayou bitch coming into my club and tryin' to bargain her little mutie friend with me!" he snarled. "So hows about this for a deal? You girls work for me, no questions asked, and in return I don't put a bullet through your pretty little chin right here, right now? Sound's good yes? Sounds reasonable?"

Kitty's heart was in her mouth. Everything seemed to be crystallising around, stark details she hadn't noticed before suddenly standing out. She could see the fear in Anna's eyes as the cold metal of the gun barrel pressed against her skin, the sweat and fury staining Jimmy's features.

"Well?" Said Jimmy, easing up on the gun and stepping back slightly. "What do you say little Sandy girl? Ready for a new boss?" Anna didn't even hesitate. She spat in his face.

"It's Mississippi ass hole." She snarled.

Jimmy's fury exploded.

He yanked back hard on her hair and drove the gun back deep, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"NO!" Kitty screamed involuntarily. The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. Jimmy span on reflex, the gun snapping round and pointing squarely at her chest. Kitty closed her eyes and a thunderous retort echoed off the office walls. For a moment she thought she must've been dead. There was no pain, no burning sensation of hot lead inside her. Slowly she opened her eyes. Jimmy was lying on his back, Anna astride him and hunched over, her face mere centimetres from his. Her right hand was clasped tightly around his jaw and her left hand was clutching at the back of his neck. Jimmy's eyes were wide with panic and he was convulsing beneath her. In the distance she could hear screaming from the crowd in club, alarmed by the gunshot. For a few moments Anna and Jimmy lay there, locked together in some strange embrace, the muscles in Anna's jaw clenched tight. Slowly Jimmy's eyes began to role back in his head and his convulsions began to lessen.

"Anna…" Kitty said quietly. "Anna stop." Anna didn't seem to hear. She just continued to stare down into Jimmy's eyes. His breathing was becoming irregular, his chest rising and falling in ragged gasps.

"ANNA STOP IT!" Kitty cried. "STOP IT! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Suddenly, as if the scream had awakened her from a deep trance, Anna collapsed backward off Jimmy. Her chest heaved and her eyes span wildly toward Kitty.

"He was… he tried…" she swallowed. "Oh my god Kitty, he tried to shoot you." She stared past Kitty toward the wall. Kitty had a strange feeling she knew what she was going to see but she turned to look anyway. A small dark hole had appeared in the wall where the bullet had impacted.

"But the bullet…" Anna continued dumbfounded. "The bullet just passed right through you!" Kitty turned back to Anna. She could here running footsteps in the corridor outside.

"We've got company." She said. Anna clambered unsteadily to her feet and began to push at one of the filing cabinets.

"Give me a hand with this." She said. Kitty darted quickly to her side and the two of them heaved first one then two of the heavy filing cabinets over to block the door.

"That and the lock should hold them." Said Kitty turning back to face Anna. "So now what?" Anna didn't answer. She was standing over Jimmy's unconscious body and Kitty breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his breathing had returned to normal.

"He's just so… so…" She turned and looked at Kitty, her eyes distant, not really seeing.

"Like oil in mah… mah head. All slick and… and…"

"Anna we don't have time for this!" Kitty said, trying to hide her alarm at the change in her friend. "We need to figure out a way out of here." Anna blinked and shook her head.

"Yeah…" she said hesitantly. Suddenly her eyes focused on the safe and she straightened, her bizarre behaviour of moments earlier seemingly forgotten.

"But first we've got to get what we came for." She gestured to the safe.

"Could you be a dahlin' and reach on in there." She said. Kitty walked over to the safe and rested her hand against it.

"Not sure. It's pretty dense." There was a sudden rattling at the door handle and the sound of voices from outside. Kitty thought she heard a muffled shout for Jimmy.

"Best try it quick hon." Said Anna, stooping low and sweeping up Jimmy's gun. "Something tells me we don't have much time left."

There was a crash as one of Jimmy's boys threw his shoulder heavily against the door. The filing cabinets rocked slightly. Kitty span back to the safe and, taking another deep breath and concentrating hard, she plunged her hand through the high-density steel. It didn't feel as effortless as usual and she had to physically push to break through both sides of the door. There was another crash at the door.

"What am I looking for?" she said desperately.

"What can you feel in there?" Anna replied, backing away from the rocking filing cabinets. Kitty squatted, feeling around the base of the safe.

"A duffle bag full of cash I think." She said. Anna shook her head.

"Not that. Try the top." Kitty obliged and stood back up. She felt her fingers brush across a loose-leaf file, stacked thick with papers.

"Some kind of file." She said. Anna's eyes lit up.

"That's it!" She said. "Can you get it out of there."

Another bang at the door.

Kitty shrugged.

"May as well try." She said. The file came easily, flowing through the steel as simply as her own arm had. She gave a final tug and suddenly the file was free. She dashed over to Anna who was standing with her back pressed against the furthest wall from the door. A third bang and this time the filing cabinets crashed over.

"I got it!" Kitty cried, waving the file. "Now what do we do?"

"Blaze of glory sound good to you?" said Anna, raising the gun and pointing it toward the door. Kitty glanced at the file in her hand and then at the wall they were pressed against. There was the sound of a gunshot as Jimmy's boys shot the lock off the door.

"Not so much, but I think I might have a better idea." Said Kitty. Without waiting for a reply she grasped Anna tightly around the waist.

The door crashed open and three of Jimmy's men spilled into the room, two of them raising guns to point toward Anna.

"Oh fu…." Anna never had time to finish as Kitty pulled at her and, losing their balance, the two of them tumbled through the rear wall.


	4. Chapter Three: Trails

**_CHAPTER THREE_**

**_TRAILS_**

Kitty clutched her hand over her mouth as she and Anna picked their way carefully along the edge of the sewer tunnel. The stench was vile. A dozen different scents, all of them as repugnant as the last, assailed her nostrils as they walked in the dim half light of the early morning that filtered down through the various greats and drains over head. Anna was a couple of paces ahead of her, the file from Jimmy's safe clutched protectively under arm.

Kitty still remembered her arrival in Manhattan, fresh off the bus and trying so desperately to look like she belonged. Of course she had stuck out like a sore thumb. She'd only had five hundred dollars to her name. It was amazing how six months ago that had seemed like enough. Of course all it had got her was a dingy room in a downmarket apartment block, and even then it had only lasted a couple of weeks. She'd been almost out of cash and struggling to find work when she ran into Anna. Literally into her.

She'd been hungry and in her efforts to save money had resorted to trying to skip out on the bill cheap diner. The owner had chased her out into the street and in her panic she had used her power to sprint through the crowd but had lost her concentration when she turned around to try and catch a glimpse of the diner owner. She'd never noticed Anna and had bowled straight into her sending them both to the ground. What had been most amazing was how Anna had stood up to the guy. Of course now she knew why. Anna had told her afterward that their kind had to stick together. She'd been flush with cash and had fronted Kitty a little to help her keep her miserable little one room apartment. Since then the two of them had been firm friends.

Anna had been in the city longer, although her accent clearly shouted to the rooftops that she wasn't a local. They'd hung out together a lot, Anna helping Kitty with money while Kitty tried to find some kind of work. She had always suspected Anna did not earn her money legitimately. She'd never liked it but as time had passed and work was less than forthcoming, Kitty had grown desperate. Desperate enough in fact that she'd finally had little choice but to ask Anna to cut her in on the whole thing. Anna had agreed although a little reluctantly at first.

She'd met Agresti that night.

The jobs were usually simple. She and Anna using there powers to obtain the things he wanted, but as their skills grew the jobs had become increasingly more dangerous, and Agresti had become increasingly reticent to pay the two 'freaks' what he'd promised. Eventually Kitty had sworn off working for him. In recent weeks he'd been becoming increasingly paranoid and aggressive in his dealings with them. Kitty suspected he was slowly breaking down. His life style after all, was hardly conservative. Anna had tried to hold off too, but without Agresti money had been harder to come by, and they had both burned a lot of bridges in working for him.

That was what had lead them to this last job, and now had them tiptoeing through the sewers in the early hours of the morning. Neither of them had spoken since Kitty had managed to pull them through the wall and into the alley outside. Having done it once it had taken very little imagination for them to realise they could escape through the nearest manhole cover into the sewers.

Very little imagination, but considerable effort.

Kitty paused for a moment and leaned rank brickwork of the sewer wall. It had once been a brighter colour, but the years of grime and rancid drain water had stained it beyond recognition.

Her whole body was aching and her legs trembled as if they were made of jelly. Unable to stop herself, she slid down the wall, finally stopping in a hunched sitting position with her legs splayed in front of her. For a brief moment she thought Anna hadn't noticed, but then she was at her side a worried, furtive look on her face.

"C'mon Kitty. We can't stop. Agresti wants this file, and ah'm betting he won't be none too pleased if you n' ah are late deliverin'."

Kitty nodded and tried to rise, even making it as far as a pained squat before her legs gave out again. Anna's brow creased in concern.

"You okay hon?" She said squinting in semi darkness. "Even in this light you don't look too good."

"I'm okay." Kitty said. She gritted her teeth and braced herself against the wall, pushing herself upright.

"You sure? Stuff you did back there…" Anna gave a soft, impressed whistle. "Never knew you could do it with stuff as big as, well, as big as me."

"Neither did I." Kitty said breathing heavily. "But it seemed worth a shot. Better than us trying to Bonnie and Bonnie our way of the place."

Anna gave her a warm smile.

"Not sayin' it wasn't a welcome surprise sugah." She said.

"And what about you?" Said Kitty trying her best to give Anna an equally warm smile in an attempt to hide her discomfort at the memory.

"I've seen you give people the shivers when you touch them, even make them look like they could sleep for a week. I've never seen you do what you did to Jimmy."

The smile disappeared from Anna's face in an instant.

"Ah… that…" She said hesitantly. She turned away, but Kitty could see she was wringing her hands as if she were trying to wash them.

"That ah did know about." She said. Kitty suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She coughed lightly and motioned to the file.

"So what's in that thing? What is it we just did our best heist movie impersonation over?" Anna lifted the file and turned it over curiously in her hands, her melancholy pushed aside for a time.

"Not a clue." She said. "Just what Agresti sent us after."

"You're not curious as to what it is? Why he was keeping it in the safe when he had all those wonderful door blocking filing cabinets lying around?"

Anna continued to stare at the file.

"Ah'd be lyin' if ah said ah wasn't." She said, toying with the string clasp that held the bulging file shut. She turned back to Kitty.

"You wanna take a gander?" Kitty shrugged.

"Who'd know?" She grinned. Anna grinned back.

"Who indeed." She said with mock innocence. The two of them squatted against the wall in the tunnel as Anna unwound the string and carefully thumbed the brown manila file open. Inside wasn't what either of them expected. Kitty wasn't even sure what she had expected. Accounts information maybe, some kind of ledger, but certainly not this. The pages appeared to be some kind of personnel records. Each record was separated by a well-thumbed post-it that displayed the record holders name. While she couldn't make much sense of the records themselves, each one being filled with meaningless jargon, the pictures in each record told her all she needed to know. Each person had a small headshot, but the clothes visible in each headshot were clearly fatigues, some even boasting rank and unit insignias.

These were military records.

She swallowed nervously.

"Anna… what did we just steal?" she said, not really needing an answer. Anna's reply was only a little less shaken.

"Ah don't know. But somethin' tells me we'll be better off once we're done handin' it over to Agresti." She quickly closed the file and rewound the string to tie it closed again. She straightened and gestured down the tunnel again.

"We should get movin'" she said. "Dangerous to hold on to somethin' like this." Kitty nodded and pushed herself to her feet.

"You feelin' better?" Anna asked.

"Good enough." Said Kitty. She didn't feel great but she though she could walk without running the risk of toppling into the sewage now. Anna watched her take a few uneven steps and nodded.

"Let's go." She said. "Before Jimmy'n his boys come lookin' for us."

* * *

Scott Summers was frustrated. That was putting it mildly of course. They had had weeks without a positive mutant contact and now, they were gone, slipped out of reach in the chaos of a wild nightclub. A nightclub in which he now stood while Sean Cassidy spoke animatedly to a nearby police detective. He glanced around the club, the red tint of his ruby quartz sunglasses dousing colours he could only imagine in vibrant shades of crimson. The house lights were up and already the first light of dawn was creeping in through the open doors.

"_Proffessor… can you hear me?"_ His own thoughts stamped clear across his mind. He shivered as he felt it, another thought, one completely alien to him, crystallising over his own.

"_I can hear you Scott. What do you have?"_

"_Nothing concrete." _Scott thought back. No matter how many times he did this, it was still extremely disconcerting to feel the Professors thoughts intruding on his own. The Professor was skilled of course, and he would never push, but Scott sometimes found himself wondering how it would feel if he ever did.

"_You have nothing to worry about Scott. I value the trust you place in me too much to risk breaking it by invading your privacy." _ Scott smiled.

"_I'm sorry Professor. I was just thinking. That's all."_

"_Don't trouble yourself. Now back to the subject at hand." _Scott nodded to himself drawing a strange look from a nearby officer.

"_We've got inside the club. Sean and his NYPD contacts coming through for us again. Not sure how much leeway we have though, and I think one of them thinks I'm talking to myself."_

The amusement in the Professors reply was obvious.

"_In a manner of speaking, you are."_ Scott tried hard not to grin.

"_As for the positives," _he paused. He hated referring to them like that. _"The girls, they were long gone by the time we arrived."_ He shook his head.

"_Unbelievable. A high grade telepathic enhancer, multiple genius level intellects on the team, even a state of the art supersonic jet and the local beat cops make it here before us." _

"_Regrettable." _Came the Professors reply. _"But unavoidable. You can hardly park the Blackbird in Manhattan._ _What happened there? I only caught elevated stress in the girl called Kathryn prior to the Cerebro burnout. "_

Scott gave the psychic equivalent of a shrug.

"_Not sure. Sean's talking to the investigating detectives, Ororo's our eye in the sky, not that I think she'll catch much. Hank and Logan are outside trying to pick up the scent. Jean's with Hank and Logan seeing if she can detect any psychic imprints they might've left behind. My thinking, the girls were here for something specific, not just some wild night out. Things got out of hand; they got scared and then ran. Not sure how they got out and what exactly happened to spook them but I'm sure Sean'll get that for us."_

"_Good work Scott. Keep me updated as to your progress."_

"_Did you manage to get a psych profile Professor? It would help if we had some idea what these girls are like if we're going to find them." _

"_I'm sorry Scott. Cerebro's burn out cut me off. All I can tell you is what I discerned from the brief contact I had with their minds. The younger girl, Kathryn is nervous and unsettled. She feels disconnected and far from home. As to her gifts I am uncertain. She tries to deny it and pushes her feelings deep. Buries it beneath layers of shame and concern."_

"_And the older girl?"_ Scott pressed.

"_Even less I'm afraid. Her psyche was highly resistant to my probes. Cluttered and chaotic, fractured almost, as if her mind were not entirely her own. Her gift though, it forms a huge part of her, defines her in a way. She's a sponge Scott, capable of absorbing energy from those around her. I would exercise extreme caution in approaching her. She has the potential to be incredibly dangerous."_

"_Did you get a name?"_

"_Sadly, no. There was one word though, something that echoes around her psyche, something from her past that she clings too for her sense of identity."_

"_What is it?"_

"_As I said, just one word. Rogue." _Scott's brow creased.

"Rogue." He muttered under his breath. The nearby police officer gave him another suspicious look. Scott turned away but could feel the man's eyes on him as he walked over.

"Excuse me sir, but may I ask who gave you permission to be here? This is a crime scene."

"He's with me." Came a third voice. Scott glanced up to see Detective William Munroe shuffling across the room toward Scott, Sean Cassidy not more than a pace behind him. Munroe was a stocky man in his early forties with a thick unkempt brown hair, a heavy belly that strained against his dark shirt. He wore a short jacket and Scott could just about catch the outline of a shoulder holster beneath it. He moved with slight limp, shoulders hunched under some invisible load and his face was lined with the years of having seen too much. Sean was the opposite. He stood tall, though not quite as tall as Scott, with even thicker hair than Munroe. It was dirty blonde and hung to just above his wide shoulders which in turn lead to long arms, tight with lean muscle. Unlike Munroe, he moved easily, each step assured with exaggerated confidence.

"Mr Summers." Munroe mumbled, extending a hand. "Wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again. Seany boy explained your interest in this case to me. Not sure I can see I'm keen on having you boys skulking around but then I've seen what happens when you take an interest in a case."

He gave a resigned shrug.

"Who knows, maybe you'll be of some use. This one certainly sounds right up your alley." He turned to face the police officer that was still standing, glaring at Scott.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be watching son?" he said and gestured with his head to the other side of the club. The police officer simply nodded and backed off, his eyes still locked on Scott.

"Ah don't worry about him." Said Munroe, turning his back on the departing officer. "Bark is always worse than bite with lads like that."

"Still best not to draw attention." Said Sean, his voice carrying a hint of Boston as he continued to watch the officer warily for a moment before turning back himself. Munroe gave a sigh.

"I suppose lads like yourselves can never be too careful." Said Munroe, his accent the same as Sean's.

"Absolutely Mr Munroe." Said Scott with a slight nod. "And I apologise if our being here is an inconvenience for you. We certainly don't mean to tread on anyone's toes. But you're right. We can never be too careful, so that's why we're here. To be careful."

Munroe's eyes narrowed and he leaned in close.

"Don't get me wrong son. I appreciate your desire to help. Your kind aren't exactly the easiest to handle at the best of times. Fight fire with fire'n all that, but this…" he motioned discreetly to the club around them. "…What happened here, this was a crime plain and simple. I've got four people in the hospital, three injured in the rush for the doors when they heard the first gunshots, and one more in a coma that doctors'll be damned if they can figure out why. When crimes are committed it's a job for the police, not a bunch of young guys with some vague government connections and political agenda."

"And what crime would you suggest was committed?" Sean intervened. Munroe scowled.

"Don't push it son." He said glancing at Sean. "We may have been a buddy in times past and you've got friends high up, but you're still only here on sufferance. I'll charge whoever's responsible for this with criminal negligence if I have to, but someone'll be going to jail." He turned and started over to the other side of the club.

"Once you boys have what you need, I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of here and stop messing up my crime scene."

Scott let out a small sigh of relief as Munroe shuffled off.

"Friendly guy isn't he?" he said as Sean stepped up alongside him.

"Munroe's not so bad." Sean said, watching the older detective walk away. "Just an old time cop is all. Been there done that. Bought the T-Shirt and the novelty coffee mug. Doesn't like things he can't explain and us…" Sean trailed off for a moment, searching for the words. "…Well, he can't really explain us."

Scott gave a slight smile.

"What's to explain? I shoot blasts from my eyes that could punch a hole from one end of this club to the other and you can whistle at frequency that would bring every dog in Harlem running. What could be simpler?"

Sean shrugged.

"Not what happened here, that's for certain."

"Care to enlighten me?" Scott said.

"Not much to go on I'm afraid. The girls seem to have made a pretty clean getaway, and the cops have already taken the club staff in for questioning. I overheard some of the guys over there talking though." He motioned to a small cluster of officers in the corner exchanging notes.

"One of 'em was talking about a statement from one of the bouncers. Said the girls were like ghosts." Scott frowned.

"Ghosts?"

"Just like the man said."

"And the guy in a coma? What's all that about?"

"Club owner." Sean said simply. "The club staff found him when they broke into the office. Was already out of it."

"Any idea where they took him?" Scott asked, the first hints of a plan forming in the back of his mind.

"Harlem Hospital Center." Sean replied. "Closest place. Apparently the paramedics couldn't figure out what was wrong with him." Scott nodded to himself. He could feel some of the pieces starting to fall into place.

"Inexplicable happenings seem to be our girls' M.O." he said." What about in the back? Did you find anything?"

"Not much."

"Any clues as to why they were here?" Scott asked. Sean shrugged again.

"Who knows? Maybe they were just out for some fun and things got out of hand. There were signs of a struggle back there, but it doesn't look like it got too heated. Must've been a bit one sided, or something cut it short. Either way I don't think they were back there for very long." He rubbed at his jaw unconsciously as thoughts ticked over in his head.

"One odd thing though," he said slowly. "They blocked the only door out with filing cabinets." Scott's eyebrows knitted together.

"To stop the bouncers getting in right?" Sean nodded.

"Exactly, but then how did they get out? You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Ghosts." Scott muttered under his breath. Sean nodded again.

"We got some kind of a 'porter or shifter on our hands."

"It would have to be the younger one." Said Scott. "The Professor's already identified the older girl's signature."

"Well which ever one of 'em it is, if she's a 'porter they could be half way across the city by now."

"Looks like we'll have to hope Logan and Hank can track them." Scott grimaced. He had really been hoping it wouldn't come down to Logan.

"Come on." He said. "Let's go and see what they've found."

* * *

Hank McCoy was pacing. He couldn't really help it. It was just that being out in public made him nervous more often than not. For what felt like, and probably was, the hundredth time he glanced around the alleyway to check that no one was paying him even the slightest bit of notice. As he had thought, save for two police officers standing by the yellow 'do not cross tape' at the mouth of the ally, the only other people beside himself were Jean and Logan. Still the perfectly rational nagging in the back of his mind refused to subside. He tugged uncomfortably at his cap's brim, trying to obscure as much of his fierce animal visage as he could and turned to face the others.

Jean was standing quietly to one side, her tousled flame red hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. Her slim arms were folded across her chest and her normally soft green eyes were currently squeezed tightly shut in fierce concentration as she strove to separate any remaining psi traces the girls might have left from the surrounding morass of swirling thoughts and feelings.

Hank didn't think she'd find much.

Jean's Psi abilities were impressive, but her control lacked the finesse of the professor's approach and had always leant more toward the telekinetic than the telepathic. Hank imagined that picking out the residual traces of two young women's telepathic signature in a city with as wild a tumult of minds as New York could not be easy, or suited to such a sledge hammer approach.

Logan was sitting on top of a nearby dumpster, his wide brimmed rancher's hat pulled down over his eyes. His thick black sideburns reached down to his lower jaw and a thick layer of stubble spread across his chin giving the smaller man an unkempt look. Despite an outward appearance of calm Hank could tell Logan was as coiled as a spring. He almost definitely wasn't sleeping, that was for certain. His breathing was too shallow, and Hank's own bestial instincts screamed at him to be wary of the other man.

He scratched at the gloves that covered what passed for his hands in irritation, and pulled his overcoat tighter around himself. He did his best to cover up in public, but thick blue fur tended to itch when presented with artificial fibres.

"You should take it easy Hank." Said Logan in his usual gravely Eastwood tones. Hank sometimes wondered if he stayed up at night practicing that voice in the mirror.

"We did what we could out here. Now we just have to wait for your boy Slim to give us our marching orders."

"My my," said Jean, opening her eyes for the first time in over ten minutes and arching an eyebrow at Logan. "Who'd have thought it? Feeling co-operative today are we?" Logan poked his hat up with his index finger, and turned his steady gaze on her.

"I'm just hoping our marching orders are in the direction of the Mansion." He sniffed the air and sneered. "I hate the city. Too much noise, and it stinks of grime and sweat. Also there's a six pack of beer waiting for me, and good ol' game of college ball to wile away the hours with."

"I think you'll be disappointed then." Hank said. "Something tells me Scott and the Professor aren't going to let this one drop. Can you imagine the negative publicity if this got out? Mutants causing panic in a nightclub, gunshots being fired, paramedics on the scene. All we'd need to complete our trip to film at eleven heaven would be a mugshot of one of these girls splashed across tomorrows newspapers."

"Not to mention the amount of credibility it would lend to anti mutant government legislation." Jean said, lending her own voice to Hank's argument. "That guy Kelly's been on the news more and more recently. All the pundits say he's gearing up for a run at the senate. Can you imagine the political capital an incident like this would give him?" Logan grunted.

"Girls and panic's already happened." He said. "Gonna be splashed on the evening news whether we like it or not, and there'll be a big banner headline claiming Mutants are the biggest threat to this great nation since the heyday of communism yadda yadda yadda. Same crap they've been spewing since god knows when. Us finding these two chicken littles isn't about to make much of a difference. We've seen this play out a hundred times before."

"At least if we can bring them in to the professor then we can find out the truth about what happened." Said Jean.

"And if they aren't apprehended then the fact that it was mutants here tonight can't be proven. The whole thing will do the rounds on the current affairs circuit, but at least there'll be some debate about it. It's a better option than the usual open and closed book on the subject." Logan was about to speak again when the doors to the club swung open and Scott and Sean walked out.

"Summers." Said Logan with the merest hint of a nod to their team leader. Hank could feel the hackles on the back of his neck beginning to rise. They always did when Scott and Logan were around each other.

"Okay team," said Scott, ignoring Logan's disrespectful tone of voice. "It's time we got moving. Jean? Can you get Ororo down here?" Jean nodded.

"Already called her." She said. As if on cue the light breeze that had been stirring Hank's fur began to tug at it more insistently. A Shadow fell across the small gathering as the graceful form of Ororo Munroe glided down into the midst of the group. As usual Hank couldn't help but stand dumbfounded. She was so graceful and elegant, the image of a Goddess out of myth. Her long white hair was tied back into a thick ponytail today, a striking contrast to her dark skin, and Hank's stubby nose twitched at the delightful fresh scent that followed her wherever she went. It was the scent of spring after the rain. She lighted gently on the concrete and began to rearrange the folds of her robe, the only member of the team to be currently dressed in uniform.

"Well, now that we're all here, I think it's time we shared what we've found." Said Scott. "Ororo? Care to go first?"

She nodded.

"The short version is that I didn't find anything." She said simply in her usual lilting Egyptian accent. "Wherever those two girls went, there wasn't any sign of them from the air. Of course it would help if we had any kind of description of them." Logan sniffed and grunted in agreement.

"'Roro's right." He said. "Not like Chuck to slip up on this."

"The Cerebro connection was short lived." Said Scott. "He didn't have time to pull any self images out of their minds while he was riding shotgun."

"And neither of them happened to look in a mirror?" Logan replied. Scott ignored him and turned to Hank.

"Did you two find anything?" Hank glanced at Logan who gave a shrug and a nod.

"We think maybe." He said finally. "There are definitely too strong scents leading away from here, although strangely enough they don't follow a discernable entry and exit pattern." Sean frowned at them from where he was standing just behind Scott.

"What exactly does that mean?" He said

"It means that when we first got their scent, these girls went in through the front door like anyone else." Said Logan. "But how they got out… well me'n Hank'll be damned if we can figure it. The scents just reappear around the back of the building. If we hadn't done a circuit of the place we'd never have picked it up again."

"Precisely what I said." Hank sniffed defensively.

"So where did the trail lead after you picked it up again?" Scott asked.

"Sewers." Replied Logan. "Although again, not sure how they managed it. There's a manhole cover about fifty metres from where the scent reappears. Scent vanishes around their again so I'm guessing that's where they went. Manhole doesn't look like it was opened though." Scott looked at Hank.

"You agree with this?" Hank glanced at Logan again. The shorter man didn't seem to care about Scott's dismissal but Hank's instincts were crying out to him to be wary. It was like watching two big cats stalk around each other on the Serengeti. One was just waiting for the opportunity to strike. He shifted slightly all too aware of Jean's eyes on him. How much was she reading from him? About the same as from everyone else he would wager. He coughed lightly.

"I agree with Logan. The old axiom of removing the impossible and leaving only the possible would seem to apply in this case. There is nowhere else they could feasibly have gone. Ergo, they went into the sewer." Scott nodded.

"It's sounding more and more like we have a teleporter on our hands." Said Sean, with an exasperated sigh.

"Not necessarily." Said Jean, shifting her gaze from Hank to him. "A telekinetic could've moved the manhole without it being immediately obvious to the naked eye, or we could be dealing with a matter displacer of some kind." She looked to Scott.

"When you're dealing with mutants, just about anything's possible."

"Did you find anything Jean?" Scott asked. "Any clues we could follow?" Jean shook her head and rubbed at her temples in a pained manner.

"Nothing solid." She said sounding almost disappointed in herself. "I think I may have got a hint of the girl the professor mentioned, the one who soaks up the energies around her in some way."

"How do you know it was her?" Logan asked. "Me'n Hank couldn't pick out which one was which. They both stank of adrenaline and fear."

"Her thoughts are quite unique." Said Jean simply. "They're cracked, like looking at her mind through broken glass. It's hard to tell where one thought ends and the others begin. Everything's a jumble. The other girl…" she trailed off and shook her head. "Nothing. The panic from the club left a strong psychic echo in the area. I can't discern her from all the other scared people trying to get away."

"Pity." Grunted Logan before turning back to Scott. "So what's the plan Summers?" Hank watched as Scott straightened slightly, his shoulders squaring the way they always did when he was about to give orders. He couldn't help but think how imperious the ruby quartz goggles Scott always wore made him look, how overbearing and intimidating that simple flaring red lens could be.

"Here's how we're going to handle this. We've got two mutant girls, scared and on the run. Cerebro's down for the time being so we'll have to do it the old fashioned way for now. Logan, I want you down in the sewers trying to follow that scent.

"Knew it." Logan muttered. "So much for beer and college ball." He looked up.

"What about McCoy?" He said, gesturing in Hank's direction. "Could really use a second pair of flaring nostrils down there." Scott shook his head.

"Sorry but I need Hank back at the mansion. If we can get Cerebro working we stand a much better chance of the Professor being able to find these kids." He turned to Ororo.

"I want you to go with Hank, Ororo." He said. "Hank and the Professor are going to be distracted over the next couple of days, and I need someone to look after the kids." Ororo gave the slightest nod.

"As you wish Scott." She said. There was no trace of Logan's defiance in her at being sidelined.

"What about me?" Asked Jean. Scott turned to her and gave her a slight grin

"It's time for our annual health check." He said.


End file.
